Olympus PEN E-PL8 vs. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Camera Comparison, Reviews and Tests

In depth comparison and review of Olympus PEN E-PL8 and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III. Compare design, sensors, proximity features, memory capacities and other important specifications and features to easily choose the right camera for you. Our goal is to help you uncover differences between the products and find the digital camera that will best fit your needs.

Camera Specifications Comparison

Olympus PEN E-PL8 vs. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Product Type Digital camera - 1080p - mirrorless system Digital camera - 4K - mirrorless system
Lens Included Body only Body only
Height 6.83 cm 8.52 cm
Width 11.71 cm 12.53 cm
Depth 3.84 cm 4.97 cm
Weight 326 g 366 g
Weight Details Camera body only: 326 g
Camera with battery and memory card: 374 g
Camera with battery, memory card and M.Zuiko 14-42mm II R lens: 491 g
Camera body only: 366 g
Camera with battery and memory card: 414 g
Enclosure Colour Black | White Black | Silver
Protection - Splashproof, freezeproof, dust-resistant
SENSOR Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Sensor Resolution 16.1 Megapixel 20.4 Megapixel
Optical Sensor Type Live MOS Live MOS
Total Pixels 17,200,000 pixels 21,800,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 16,100,000 pixels 20,400,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size Four Thirds (17.3 x 13.0 mm) Four Thirds (4/3")
Frame Rate (Max Resolution) 30 fps 24 fps
Sensor Dust Reduction Yes Yes
Sensor Features Supersonic Wave Filter (SWF) Supersonic Wave Filter (SWF)
Image Stabiliser Optical (3-axis image sensor shift mechanism) Optical (5-axis image sensor shift mechanism)
Built-in Optical Image Stabiliser Yes Yes
Sensors - Digital level metre
PROCESSOR Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Image Processor TruePic VII TruePic VIII
LENS Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Lens Mounting Type Micro Four Thirds Micro Four Thirds
FOCUSING Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Auto Focus TTL contrast detection TTL contrast and phase detection
Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty 800 121
Auto Focus Features - Focus Peaking function, Manual Focus Check Live View
AE/AF Control Face-priority AF, Subject-tracking AF, Touch Area AF, Eye detection AF Subject-tracking AF, Eye detection AF
Face Detection Eye Detect AF Eye Detect AF
VIEWFINDER Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Viewfinder Type - Electronic - OLED
Viewfinder Colour Support - Colour
Viewfinder Resolution - 2,360,000 pixels
Optical Viewfinder Field Coverage - 100%
Optical Viewfinder Magnification - 1.37x
Optical Viewfinder Dioptric Correction Range - -4 to +2
Field of View Crop Factor - 2
EXPOSURE & WHITE BALANCE Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
ISO (Max) 25600 25600
Native ISO 100-25600 200-25600
Extended ISO (Min) - 64
Light Sensitivity ISO 100-25600, ISO auto (100-25600) ISO 100, ISO 64, ISO auto, ISO 200-25600
Exposure Metering Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot, highlight spot, shadow spot Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot
Exposure Metering Zones 324 324
Exposure Modes Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority
Bracketing Modes Art Filter bracketing, focus bracketing, ISO sensitivity bracketing, white balance bracketing Art Filter bracketing, ISO sensitivity bracketing, Flash Exposure Bracketing, white balance bracketing
Special Effects Sepia, Monotone, Neutral, Vivid, Custom Effect, soft focus, natural, Muted, Water Colour, Diorama, Cross Process, partial colour, Grainy Film, Light Tone, Pop Art, Pale & Light Colour, pin hole, Gentle Sepia, Dramatic Tone, Key Line, Vintage Soft focus, Water Colour, Diorama, Cross Process, partial colour, Grainy Film, Light Tone, Pop Art, Pale & Light Colour, pin hole, Gentle Sepia, Dramatic Tone, Bleach Bypass, Key Line, Vintage, Nostalgia, Neo Nostalgia
White Balance Custom, automatic, presets Custom, automatic, presets
White Balance Presets Incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, sunlight, Flash, shade, Underwater, 2000K - 14000K Fluorescent, sunlight, tungsten light, Flash, shade, overcast, Underwater, 2000K - 14000K
Shutter Type Electronic Mechanical, electronic
Max Shutter Speed 1/4000 sec 1/32000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 60 sec 60 sec
Exposure Compensation ±5 EV range, in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps ±5 EV range, in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing 7 steps in 1/3 or 2/3 EV steps -
White Balance Bracketing Yes Yes
X-sync Speed 1/125sec, 1/4000 sec -
Exposure Range EV -2-20 - wide lens (ISO 100) EV -2-20 (ISO 100)
DISPLAY Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Type 3" LCD display 3" LCD display
Touch Screen Yes Yes
Display Format 1,037,000 pixels 1,040,000 pixels
Display Form Factor Folding Folding
Display Features Display brightness control, display colour control Display brightness control, display colour control, Touch AF
FLASH Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Camera Flash Detachable flash Detachable flash
Guide Number (m / ISO 100) 10 12.9
Flash Modes Fill-in mode, rear curtain sync, slow synchro, auto mode, flash OFF mode, red-eye reduction Fill-in mode, rear curtain sync, slow synchro, auto mode, flash OFF mode, red-eye reduction
Red-Eye Reduction Yes Yes
Features AF illuminator, flash +/- compensation, wireless off-camera control AF illuminator, flash +/- compensation, wireless off-camera control, flash exposure bracketing
External Flash Name Olympus FL-LM1 Olympus FL-LM3
VIDEOGRAPHY / CAMCORDER Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Digital Video Format AVI, MJPEG, H.264, MOV H.264, MOV
Image Recording Format JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG, MPO JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG, MPO
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 4096 x 2160
Audio Signal Format - Linear PCM
Microphone Operation Mode Stereo Stereo
Microphone Features Wind noise reduction, sensitivity control Wind noise reduction, sensitivity control
MEMORY Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Memory Card Slot SD card SD card
Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card
Memory Card Included No No
Image Storage RAW 4608 x 3456 - 17 MB
JPEG 4608 x 3456 - 7.5 MB
JPEG 4608 x 3456 - 3.5 MB
JPEG 2560 x 1920 - 1.1 MB
JPEG 1280 x 960 - 0.4 MB
RAW 5184 x 3888
JPEG 5184 x 3888
JPEG 1024 x 768
Video Capture MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps - 24Mbps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps - 16Mbps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 30 fps - 12Mbps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 30 fps - 8Mbps
MJPEG - 1280 x 720 - 30 fps
MJPEG - 640 x 480 - 30 fps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 30 fps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 25 fps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 24 fps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 60 fps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 p - 50 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 60 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 50 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 30 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 25 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 p - 24 fps
MOV - 4096 x 2160 p - 30 fps
MOV - 3840 x 2160 p - 30 fps
MOV - 3840 x 2160 p - 25 fps
MOV - 3840 x 2160 p - 24 fps
BATTERY AND CHARGING Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Battery Type Olympus BLS-50 Lithium Ion Olympus BLS-50 Lithium Ion
Details Olympus BLS-50 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included) Olympus BLS-50 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included)
Battery Life Photo shooting - 350 shots
Video recording - 2.5 hours
Photo shooting - 310 shots
CONNECTIONS Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Interface Composite video/audio, HDMI, USB 2.0, IEEE 802.11b/g/n HDMI, USB 2.0, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2
Connectivity Features Remote control via mobile devices, remote live view Remote control via mobile devices, remote live view
Print Standard DPOF support, Exif Print support, PRINT Image Matching Exif Print support
Flash Terminal Hot shoe Hot shoe
Connector Type USB 2.0
Composite video/audio output
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
USB 2.0 (5 pin Micro-USB Type B)
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
Microphone (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
Remote control (sub-mini phone 2.5 mm)
FEATURES Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Self-Timer Delay 2sec, 12sec 2sec, 12sec
Continuous Shooting Speed 3.7 frames per second, 8.5 frames per second, 7.4 frames per second 10 frames per second, 30 frames per second, 6 frames per second
HDR Mode Auto HDR mode, HDR post-processing -
Additional Features Audio recording, built-in speaker, auto power save, digital image rotation, camera orientation detection, histogram display, shadow point display, highlight point display, in-camera RAW processing, Full-time Live View, Intelligent AUTO (iAUTO), Eye-Fi Card Ready, Touch Shutter technology Auto power save, AE lock, AF lock, interval shooting mode, USB charging, high-speed recording, Touch Shutter technology, Focus Stacking, 50-megapixel High Resolution mode
OTHERS Olympus PEN E-PL8 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Included Accessories Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, USB cable Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, USB cable
Software Drivers & Utilities, Olympus Viewer 3 -
Max Operating Temperature 40 °C 40 °C
Min Operating Temperature 0 °C -10 °C
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